Room and Board
by DancingSmurf
Summary: The account of Sansa's enrollment at Harren's Hall Preparatory School.
1. One

Sansa admired the architecture of the Ghost Tower dormitory building. In all honesty it was more of a tower and Sansa was the maiden at the top. She stood next to the limo as her brothers Robb and Jon helped get her stuff out of the truck.

"Still nervous sweetling," asked her mother. Her mother had went to this boarding school when she was young.

"A little bit," admitted Sansa. She was so nervous that she didn't eat at all that morning.

"It's a fine honor to be accepted into Harren's Hall," said her father. He was also helping with the baggage Sansa had carried from home.

As they 5 of them crammed into the elevator, Sansa pondered and wondered where the year would take her. Robb and Jon had loved their years at Harren's Hall and Sansa was determined to too. Harren's Hall was a prestigious boarding school where choice select where accepted. Many of the chosen went on to lead amazing lives and if she was sure of anything it was that her life would be extraordinary.

With the exception of the top floor, every floor of the Ghost Tower had eight somewhat small rooms. The top floor, however, had only four very spacious rooms with their own private bathrooms, a small living area with its own kitchenette and a somewhat big. Instead of a hallway, the top floor had a very colorful gathering area complete with couches and a nice, chic firepit. A lottery was held every year to see who would get the coveted rooms. And this year, Room 2104 was hers.

Sansa and her family went in and Sansa had them put all the stuff down at the foot of the queen sized bed.

"Looks like your roommate has already been here," said Robb looking at the other side of the room.

Sansa glanced at the other side of the room to see that the other bed was indeed made up. A glorious green comforter with golden flowers embroidered in it. A green and golden canopy hung heavy over the entire thing.

"Aww, it's beautiful," said Sansa. She ran her hand over the soft comforter," it's so soft."

Her mother came over," I just love the needlework of it too, it's well done."

Sansa looked over to see her father and brothers just staring. Robb picked at a cuticle.

"Alright, everyone leave before I start killing Starks," Sansa pushed Robb and Jon out the door.

"What the hell, Sansa," Robb said between giggles.

"Out, out you ingrates, I'll put everything up myself," she said. She couldn't stop laughing.

Her father walked out of the room," Are you sure Sansa, we don't mind."

She could see the emotion in his voice that his eyes hid. Sansa went over and hugged her father.

"It's okay dad I can do it by myself, besides, you men don't have my eye for design." She laughed and wiped her eyes.

They crammed back into elevator. The air gave a feel of goodbye.

Back at the parking lot, Sansa wasn't the only student saying tearful goodbyes to their parents. Her mother hugged her and cried about how her girl was a woman now. Her father hugged her and spoke of keeping up her grades and being responsible throughout the year. Jon just told her to keep safe. Robb told her not to visit home too often or they might not miss her as much.

It was almost sunset when the Stark buisness limo left for the plane ride home. Sansa left and made the elevator trip back up to floor 21. As she ascended up, she sorely wished she had accepted father's offer to help set up her room. When she exited the elevator, music was playing and the door was open. I, I will be king, the music said. And you, you will be queen. Sansa inched closer to her door, unsure what to make of it. Though nothing will drive them away, we can beat them, just for one day. Sansa opened the door to see a teenaged girl and boy pulling the fitted sheet on her bed.

"Make sure you tuck it under the bed so it will stay," said the girl.

"Um, excuse me," they turned when she spoke," what are you doing."

They girl turned and turned off the music," Oh, I'm so embarrassed, please forgive me but I wanted to show my brother here your lovely sheet set. I do admire the stitching."

Despite the weirdness involved, Sansa couldn't find it in herself to actually be offended.

"Um, it's alright, I guess," Sansa said," I was going to do it myself but I see I'm in good hands."

The girl smiled at her with warm brown doe eyes and clapped her hands together," Silly me, I haven't introduced myself."

She went over to Sansa and reached out her hand, which Sansa took

"My name is Margaery Tyrell, it's a pleasure to meet you."


	2. II

Over the next few days before the term began, Sansa got to know her roomate.

Margaery was the youngest and only daughter out of four kids. While Loras, the boy who helped make Sansa's bed, was a year older she refered to him lovingly as "younger brother".

Loras' room was situated on the 5th floor of Ghost Tower.

"It must be awful being in such a small room, hopefully he'll have a good roomate, like me," Sansa said.

She and Margaery were lying on Sansa's poofy, gray comforter. Margaery was braiding Sansa's hair in this lovely variation on a french braid Margaery had come up with.

"Oh no, he's quite comfortable, I assure you," said Margaery," he's sharing a room with this senior he's been seeing for some time now."

The rooms weren't co-ed, and Sansa was quick to the uptake.

"Oh really, who is it?"

"You've probably heard of him, his name's Renly Baratheon."

Sansa was suprised at this.

"Renly?"

"You know him," asked Margaery.

"Well, his brother Robert is a great friend and business partner of my dad."

Margaery stopped with Sansa's hair.

"Wait, who's your father?"

Sansa turned and faced Margaery," Eddard Stark of Stark Industries."

A look of knowing came upon Margaery's face.

"I think I met your dad once, is he, like, tall with long brown hair that's kinda thin?"

"Yeah that's him."

Margaery let out the prettiest giggle and said," I remember back when I was a little girl and my dad invited your dad to come and invest in Tryell Corp. and I remember my grandmother told me that she had never met a more honorable man."

Sansa blushed. "That's my dad."

Margaery collapsed on the bed," Wow, I guess it is a small world after all."

Sansa followered her, ruining the braid. Margaery fussed with her hair as Sansa lay her head on Margaery's lap. The girls talked and talked while Margaery's music played softly in the background.

Close to sunset noise came from outside the room.

"CAREFUL! I will literally kill you if you drop that," the voice said.

"Joffrey don't talk to your uncle like that," a woman's voice said.

Intrigued, Sansa got off the bed and headed toward the door. She opened it and saw a small, blonde boy with small thin lips. In a weird way you could call him handsome. He noticed her staring and put down the box he was carrying on the ground and went over to where Sansa was.

"Hey my fair lady," he reached and kissed her hand lightly, which excited her," it's a pleasure to meet you and your friend."

Indeed Margaery had entered the door frame as well, listening to the boy's soft voice.

"Oh this is my friend Margaery," she said and Margaery put out her hand and shook his hand," and my name's Sansa."

"My name's Joffery, I'm in Room 2102 if you need me." He kissed Sansa's hand and left to go put his things in his room.

Joffrey's mother glares at them as Sansa shut the door.

"Looks like someone has the hots for you," Margaery said.

Sansa blushed to herself and let herself get carried away by the romanticism of it all.


	3. III

The sun was shining in the sky and the air was pleasantly chilly when Sansa and Margaery left the dorms to head for the Great Hall. There was a great distance between the Ghost Tower and the Great Hall, the perfect opportunity to walk off the feeling of sleep. As they walked, Margaery began to talk of a dream she had the night before.

"I dreamt that I was in a long hallway with many doors. For some reason I knew I was late for something and needed to find the right door. The first door wasn't it, it held a purple cat that had seemingly died horribly, it had foam around it's mouth. My journey continued to the second door, which held a chained dog that tried to snap at me but was restrained by the chain. A bird came and I saw it break the chain with its beak. The dog tried again to come at me but I shut the door. I could still hear it growling as I moved towards the final door. The last door held a burnt snowy forest and as I walked in the snow I saw the school was on fire. The stone was crumbling and falling down and as it fell, I woke up."

Sansa looked at her for a moment.

"That is one screwed up dream."

"Oh I know, it's interesting but quite a mood killer."

"Well, it _is_ rather weird, you must admit."

The sleep in Sansa's bones had been expelled when the two of them reached the Great Hall. Sansa could see why it was called great.

It was easily the length of 3 football fields and was the home of the luncheon tables. Many students had already gone in and many were still pouring in. When they entered the hall, Sansa noticed that most of the back tables were at full capacity. The student body seemed to have filled all the tables except for the first row which was right next to the teacher's platform. Sansa could see a lone familiar face at the table on the left.

"Let's sit up there," Sansa said.

"I don't think we have many options," said Margaery.

Joffrey sour looking face cheered up considerably when he noticed the two girls.

"Oh hey," he said, his eyes cocky.

"Hey," Sansa said sitting down. Margaery sat next to her.

"It's a bitch that school starts this early," he said.

Sansa ignored his language," Did you have a restless night too?"

Margaery waved prettily to someone.

"Yeah, in hindsight I shouldn't have stayed up so late but my roommate arrived last night around midnight."

"Oh is he rude?"

"I don't know, he's some scholarship kid from the looks of him."

Margaery's brother arrived at the table and sat down behind them. He was holding hands with a tall black haired boy that she assumed was the senior he was dating.

"Are you well rested Loras, we seem to have an outbreak of restless nights on our hands," Sansa said.

Loras' warm eyes beheld her," I did but it's a miracle," he grasped his partner's arm," Renly here snores and it's a rather small room."

Renly looked at Loras with amusement in his eyes," Well at least I'm not a blanket hog."

Loras started to say something but was interrupted by a voice speaking into a microphone.

" **UM EXCUSE ME STUDENTS, SETTLE DOWN,** " said a squat bespectacled woman. The microphone gave a loud squeal which caused everyone to cover their ears.

"Oh gods, the reverb," hissed Joffrey.

Sansa looked up at the woman as she wiped sweaty palms on her jeans.

"Sorry," said the woman," Welcome students old and new to another exciting year at Harren's Hall Preparatory Academy. We hope to have a great year and to better ourselves and the world through your studies. Please welcome to the podium our headmaster as he speaks of the rules and customs."

As she backed away, a small man from the crowded teacher's table arose. Sansa could make out his sharp features from her table. He had green eyes and black hair that had touches of gray in it. His clothing was a simple gray button up and black pants. He stepped up to the platform.

"Hello students," his calm, smooth voice said," I'm the headmaster of this school. Feel free to call me Mr. Baelish or Petyr if you want me to remember you."

This elicited a few laughs, especially from Sansa. The headmaster gave her a quick glance. His eyes seemed to search her soul for a second and were quickly drawn back to the crowd before she could make anything of it.

"I know it can get rather stuffy in here, so I'll make this quick. As always: be on time to your classes and always be prompt with classwork ect cetera. After the little incident last year, please be sure to not be out past nine at night without permission or you will have to deal with Mr. Clegane's hounds. They are let loose to prowl the grounds at night and will attack anyone they perceive as a threat."

He smiled slightly at this as if it would be rather funny to see what would happen if a student doubted this.

"If you are a full time boarder here and under 18, please have your parents or legal guardian call to vouch for where you will be on weekends. During Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter the school will be closed so make sure to make holiday plans in advance. Thank you, you may go to your classes."

And with that everyone got up, gathered their things and tried to cram out the doors.

As they quietly shuffled towards the door, Joffrey said," After today is done, why don't we have a little get together at my room?"

Sansa looked around at the others. Margaery was the first to respond.

"Oh that'd be lovely, wouldn't it Sansa?"

"Oh yeah totally," she responded.

"I'll go if you go Renly," said Loras leaning on his shoulder.

"Of course we'll go, his room is on the top floor," Renly said.

Looking at Joffrey, Sansa realized he had meant just her. She blushed as he looked at the two boys.

"Just you two, don't invite anyone else, alright?"

"Alright."

They reached the doors by then and started their own way.

"See you fourth, Sansa dear," said Margaery.

"Okay, see you then," waved Sansa.

As she walked with other students to her first class, Sansa was feeling rather excited for the school year.

 _Oh, I hope it'll be over soon,_ she thought. That party looked like it would be fun.

She looked at her schedule. On to English.


	4. IV

Because gym class was her last class of the day, Sansa was tired and sweaty by the time she got back to her dorm. Margaery wasn't in the room yet, so she stripped off her gym clothes and turned on the shower. Stepping in she let the cool water wash off the dirt and grime of the day off.

Feeling refreshed but tired, Sansa collapsed on the couch with nothing but her bath robe covering her. She spread her long auburn hair out on the back of the sofa to dry and soon fell to sleep while the afternoon sun made her hair shine like fire.

Sansa awoke to the sound of music in her ears. She opened her eyes, wiped the sleep away and grew accustomed to the late afternoon light which flooded through the window. Sansa could hear Margaery singing softly. Her voice was sweet and pure like a bird's warble. Sansa sat there on the couch listening to her voice until the water stopped. Margaery came out with hair cascading down her shoulders in a brown tumble.

She noticed that Sansa was awake and made sure thather bathrobe was on tight and plopped down next to her on the couch.

"Gods, this day was long," she stretched her arms over her head and her legs went stiff before her.

"Oh I know, I've already got an essay to write. I have a feeling this will be a _long_ year."

"Well we'll just have to learn to have fun along the way, won't we," she turned her soft brown eyes toward Sansa. She had a small playful smile on her lips.

Sansa smiled," Yeah I guess we will."

Margaery got up.

"Well, I guess I better get ready for the party."

Sansa was shocked to learn that, though they were early, they were not the first to arrive. Joffrey had invited his group of friends up to the room.

"Ah, my lady Sansa and her friend Margaery," said Joffrey. he was reclining on the couch. Sansa noticed that his green eyes had a sparkling look to them in the light of the room.

"So this is who you were talking about, huh," some oily black haired guy said. He was eyeing her with his pale blue eyes.

"Yes Ram," said Joffrey. He got up from the couch and put his arm around Sansa's waist. Sansa could feel a blush rising from her cheeks.

"But I'm afraid she's with me at the moment."

"Oh well," said Ram," Would you like to talk with me, you seem like the intellectual type."

As Margaery sat down Joffrey led her the kitchenette.

"We have Arbor products and milk if your thirsty," he said. He got a glass and put it on the counter and bent over to open the mini fridge.

"If you have a Diet Dr. Gold, I'll take it," she said. She sat down and crossed her arms on the counter trying to look pretty.

Joffrey closed the fridge and poured the drink into the glass.

"We don't have any ice," he said.

"It's okay, I don't like ice in my drinks."

"May I ask why?"

Sansa ran her fingers through her hair," Well when I was a little girl I use to talk most of the time when I was eating and by the the time I got around to drinking, the ice melted and ruined my drinks."

"Huh," was the only response.

After that there's not much to say, it happened much like parties happen. Sansa and Margaery left around midnight by then most of Joffrey's friends were passed out drunk or just being drunk.

When they got to their room, Margaery found Renly and Loras passed out in her bed, cuddling.

"Looks like they had a better night than we," said Margaery, her smile playful on her face.

"Should we wake them?"

Margaery shook her head," I'll get on them tommorow, I'll sleep on the couch."

Margaery went to couch and slipped off her shoes.

"Wait"

Margaery looked at her.

"You can sleep with me for tonight."

Margaery was never one for false modesty," Thanks Sansa, you're a doll."

They got in their pajamas and got in their sides of the bed, Margaery looked as if she wanted to say something but didn't.

"Thanks again Sansa."

"Don't mention it."


End file.
